


The General's Son

by prince_pelleas



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, So I need to provide more, There are not enough Tellius fanfics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 20:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10046204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prince_pelleas/pseuds/prince_pelleas
Summary: Ike is having a hard time dealing with his father's legacy and past. Soren tries to help him cope.





	

Ike sighed as he looked down, towards the edge of the balcony. The city, now shadowed by the night, was silent. Though, from his position, high up over the fences and buildings, he could see some streets alight with fire. The bright glow was faint, but insistent - it declared the strength of the people of Daein. Despite their country's defeat at the hands of the joined forces of Begnion and Crimea, they knew that King Ashnard was still alive, and in Crimea. They still held a faint glimmer of home. In a brightly-illuminated alley, he saw a young woman holding a child. She was walking rapidly, her silver hair glowing gold in the light.   
   
Turning away from the city, not wanting to look at this private moment, Ike let out a soft sigh.  
   
He knew this wasn't the time to stand, staring at unfamiliar roads of a foreign city, of a foreign capital. He should've been training for upcoming battles, checking up on supplies and the injured, helping his sister... But now, he couldn't.  
   
He couldn't believe that it had been well over a year since he had left his home in Crimea. A year since he had accepted the job to aid Princess Elincia of Crimea to return to her conquered capital. And... a year since he and his sister were the only members of his family remaining.  
   
Perhaps this wasn't fair - the rest of his father's mercenary group were just as close to being family to Ike. Soren was the sole exception - though that was not due to a lack of affection towards the beautiful mage. No, his love for Soren was not familial - that's all.   
   
After a moment, Ike heard footsteps approaching his balcony. The steps were most likely Soren's - Ike could tell from the awkward, slow gait.  
   
"Soren." he said, not turning around. "Are you here to give me your daily report?" Ike tried to sound jovial, though he himself could tell that he sounded fake.   
   
Without saying a word, Soren walked up to him and put his small, delicate hand onto his shoulder blades. "Are... you feeling well? I’m concerned about you.”   
   
Soren was never one for comforting others, so Ike was pleasantly surprised that he was there with him.   
   
"I'm... Not sure. I learned so much... Yet I still know so little. I wish that I could speak with dad one last time. I wish I could ask him about mom, and his job, and Volke. And King Ashnard. And everything that has happened." Ike's voice cracked slightly. "And Mist... what should I tell her? She's so young, and she lost everyone. She deserves better. And Elincia... I can't give up on her. And with the Black Knight... Did I do the right thing? Did he deserve to die? Wasn't my father a traitor?"  
   
Soren's hand remained a soft, comforting weight on Ike's back. "I can't answer that for you. But your father... He did what he believed to be correct. You may agree or disagree. It's your decision."  
   
Ike choked back a sob. “But I… I don’t want to make that decision. Ever. I want dad to be alive – I want mom to be alive. For us to return to Crimea and be mercenaries again.” He paused. “I don’t want to be a General of a foreign country, I don’t want them to be dead… I want things to be normal.”  
   
“I understand. But you have to move on – I hate to say this as your friend, but as your tactician, well… You’re Crimea’s hope. Like it or not, you have to do this – return the Crimean princess back home. This is very good for the company, though. The nation of Crimea will be in our debt – this will help solidify our reputation, and help you in establishing our mercenary group.”  
  
“Soren, not everything is about profit and reputation. Sometimes, you should do things out of pride to your motherland, loyalty, care for others…”  
  
“Yes. But I only care about you, and am only loyal to your mercenary group. “ He paused for a moment. “As well, isn’t loyalty to the motherland flawed as a whole? Patriotism is a bizarre illusion that compels fools to die for a useless cause.”  
  
“Soren…”  
“Please. The past is the past. It doesn’t matter how unfortunate it is - you cannot change it. There is no need to pity me - I am no longer the child I was back then.”  
  
“Still… Soren… You deserved better.”  
  
“Perhaps. But I’m not here to blather on about myself - I’m here to talk to you about our plans. As well as your… wellbeing.”  
  
“I’m alright.”  
  
“Of course. That’s why you’re currently training with Boyd or Mia. Or listening to my comments about strategy.”  
  
Ike bit his lip. Was he really as obvious as Soren had claimed? Scratch that, he absolutely was. “Should I tell them?”  
  
“Not in this state -  and you don’t have to.”  
  
“But…”  
  
“Ike. They are your subordinates, not the other way around. And either way… I can understand that this is a hard burden for you to bear. You mustn’t do it alone.”  
  
“Thank you, Soren. I am deeply graceful for your friendship. You said that you wanted to discuss strategy with me?”  
  
“Perhaps. In the last battle, we accomplished quite a bit - Jill had not defected to her father’s side, unlike what I had expected, we gained a proficient mage, a Tomahawk and a Rescue Staff.”  
  
“A mage?”  
  
“Yes - I told you this yesterday.”  
  
Ike rubbed his head sheepishly. “I might have not been paying attention yesterday. Or the day before.”  
  
“Her name is Calill - while I have no understanding of why she joined, she in a valuable member. She is a Fire Mage like Tormod. I find that she is skilled, and will make a valuable member of our secondary team - since Tormod is also a staff user, he will definitely be on the front lines, but she will be of great help.”  
  
“The blonde woman? I heard that she was hitting on Oscar - Boyd couldn’t stop laughing.”  
  
“I heard that myself - however, I feel that punishing her would be moronic. After all, Oscar himself had no problem with it.”  
  
“Kieran did.”  
  
Soren rolled his eyes. “It’s Kieran - Oscar is his ‘eternal rival’ - of course he’d have a problem. The idiot has a problem with everything. At least he is a masterful axe user.”  
  
“Fair point. How about our funds?”   
  
“They are running high. However, Ike, I can tell you’re trying to distract me from the situation at hand - you leaned that your father was an ex-General of Daein that ran away with a your mother, who was a priestess in charge of protecting a medallion housing a Goddess because the king, the very man we are fighting against now, wanted to misuse it. And that your father, under the influence of said medallion, killed your mother. You’re definitely shaken up and terrified - don’t even try to pretend otherwise.”  
  
Ike shuddered, leaning onto the balcony railing. He let out an unsteady breath to try to compose himself. “Soren…”  
  
“Ike, no. I’ve know you for long enough, and understand you enough to be able to tell. You’re barely 17 - you need time to grieve. Our companions will understand that - while most are next to useless, they care for you as their general deeply.”  
  
“I don’t want to be a general though. And despite being 17, I’m still commander - and my age doesn’t matter. Rolf is 12, my sister is 15, Boyd is 18… Titania is the oldest at what, 30? We’re all young.”  
  
“It would be next to impossible for even a woman as powerful as Empress Sanaki to allow a no-name mercenary to take control of an army. Therefore, you had to be a noble - or at least a General. And it doesn’t matter. You deserve to grieve - everyone does. You watched your father, the man you admired and wanted to be like killed before your eyes. You had to meet the man who killed him in battle. This isn’t normal - this is tragic, and your deserve better.”  
  
“Maybe.”  
  
“This isn’t a maybe - you should go back to your room, and sleep - we need to regroup, and meet General Zelgius, who won’t arrive for a week. You have a whole week to process this information. I urge you - I will take over all your duties for the while. This is the least that I can do as your friend.”  
  
“If you come with me.”  
  
“Alright, General Ike.”  
  
Ike cracked a small smile. “I won’t let the Black Knight escape my grasp - I cannot lose such a major battle as a snooty noble.”  
  
“Let’s go then, Ike. Together.”  
  
“Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> TBH, IkeSoren is my favourite FE couple, and I wish there was more content. 
> 
> So, I left my hiatus and created my own.


End file.
